WEBVTT

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Greetings,
Deputy PM Matej Arčon

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will present the proceedings of
today's 101st government meeting.

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Thank you. Greetings, let me begin
with the current issue,

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the pension changes
or rather the pension reform.

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Today we internally
discussed starting points

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and appointed an appropriate
coordination group, that will,

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in light of the revival
of the Economic and Social Council,

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cooperate with
a core group of the ESC

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to definitively
coordinate standpoints,

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which will then enter procedure
at the Economic and Social Council.

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That was also one of the purposes
of the Prime Minister's meeting

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with the
ESC representatives yesterday.

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We are hoping for a different work
method than we have had so far.

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The coalition did commit to first
adopting the starting points,

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presenting them to the ESC

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and then begin preparing
appropriate legislative material,

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be they acts
or regulatory acts.

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The only thing I can
currently say is that,

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in light of the
pension reform,

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the length of service
will not change.

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Regarding the floods, today
we confirmed the list of buildings

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to be removed
in Ljubno and Luče.

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The decision for someone
to relocate is always hard,

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that is why such a decision
was not made easily.

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But I can say that it is based
on professional assessments

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and with the single purpose
of ensuring people's safety.

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Initially, we are talking
about 20 buildings.

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The State will fully reimburse
the owners their assessed value

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and will be giving
them a choice,

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whether to opt
for a payment of compensation,

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construction of a replacement

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or for the State to purchase
a replacement property for them.

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Of course, the owners
have been notified of this.

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A resolution on the next 17 homes
will be discussed in May.

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At the meeting we also adopted
a very important act

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regarding the rehabilitation

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of the area around the
old zinc plant in the Celje Basin.

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which is currently
abandoned and degraded

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due to past industrial activity,
as we all know.

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The government wants to
therefore bite the sour apple

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and, in a sort of
historical moment, even,

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begin rehabilitating the area,

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adopting certain
spatial development acts

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and allocating funds for the
rehabilitation of this area.

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More on this matter
will be provided

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at the press conference
in Celje on Friday.

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Regarding good news,
the government has decided

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to grant 3 million euros
in incentives

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for the construction
of low-energy houses.

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The aim is to grant
the incentives

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through public tender
to 200 families,

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which will opt to either
purchase or construct

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a building with low
energy consumption

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and efficient use
of rainwater.

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22.5 million euros
will also be available

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for solving energy poverty.

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The incentives
will also be intended

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for low-income households to acquire
more economical energy sources.

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Some more good news
for Kočevje,

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where they will be laying
the foundation stone today

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for the new investments by the
Japanese corporation Yaskawa,

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worth 32 million euros. The
foundation stone-laying ceremony

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will also be attended
by the Prime Minister.

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Thank you. The deputy PM
will be answering questions,

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and Luka Mesec will talk
about the pension changes.

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Let us begin in here.

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Those who are online,
raise your hands.

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Metka Majer, POP TV.
Regarding the 20 buildings,

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when exactly
will the demolition begin?

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Decisions will be dispatched
and issued.

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Talks about signing agreements
are taking place.

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As said,
property owners must decide

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whether they want
replacement construction

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or to take the money and build
a property elsewhere themselves.

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We are in the phase
of coordinating agreements.

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Rok Šuligoj, RTV.
Did you discuss at the meeting

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or rather
do you have a plan

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on how to amend
the Constitutional Court Act?

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That was not on the agenda today,
nor at the coalition coordinations.

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I am sure we will hear
more about the pension reform,

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but it has been said
that starting points

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for a tax reform
will also be prepared, is that so?

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As I said, the important thing
is that the coalition

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has agreed on a protocol
for coordinating

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the important material
to be entered into procedure

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at the Economic
and Social Council.

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The Coalition
first adopts the starting points,

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forwards them to the
Economic and Social Council,

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which is a smaller
or a larger group,

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and then they enter procedure.

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The same process
we used today

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to adopt the starting points
for the pension reform

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will be used to implement
changes in the field of taxes.

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There are no more questions.
Thank you Deputy PM.

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Thank you. -Now I give the floor
to Minister Luka Mesec.

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Go ahead.

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Good afternoon. Today
I will present the progress

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made in the area
of pension reform,

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because today at the Government
we presented the baselines

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for the pension reform.

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We approved the basis for the start
of the coordination process

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with the social partners,
which will be led in the first phase

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by the State Secretary from the
Ministry of Labour, Igor Feketija.

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This will take place next month,

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we will discuss these things
with the social partners,

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with the employers
and the trade unions.

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Then we will start
the formal negotiations,

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where I will take the baton.

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The pension reform
has three objectives.

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Sustainability,
the dignity of pensions,

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and the transparency
of the system.

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Sustainability means
the scenario for the pension reform

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is set up so that the system
will be able to fiscally withstand

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the next decades
of all kinds of crises,

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and that each one of us
can rely on it a 100%.

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We will have pensions,

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that is the basic point
of this pension reform.

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The pension reform
is set up in such a way

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that no one who will meet
the conditions for retirement

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will be at risk of poverty.

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This is an important contribution
to the pension story from our side.

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The previous reforms were,
in our estimation,

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carried out too roughly,

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too many things happened
the following year.

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Our reform
will spread the measures

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over the next decade
up to 2035,

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when the reform ends.

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Nothing drastic will change
next year or in 2026.

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The changes will be gradual,

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and we will follow the simultaneity
of the different measures.

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Some measures
are for sustainability,

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other measures
are for the dignity of pensions,

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these measures
will happen simultaneously,

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and the point of all this is
to have a robust system,

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not like the current one,

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which has been amended twenty times
since it was adopted in 2013.

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That says a lot
about the current system,

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how many times it has been
amended or attempted to be amended

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by governments
or by parliamentary groups,

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how many times it has been
politically interfered with.

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With this reform
we're now preparing,

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we're envisaging a scenario
for the next decade up to 2035,

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and we are setting up
a robust system

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that will not be constantly
politically interfered with.

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Perhaps one more thing
worth saying.

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In ten years' time, in 2035,
we will be proposing

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to the social partners
that a commitment be made today

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to look at the system
that we have set up,

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to ensure that all these objectives
are sufficiently met,

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sustainability,
the dignity of pensions,

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and the transparency
of the system,

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and to then discuss again

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any additional measures
that may be necessary.

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But the reform
that we have presented

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is intended to make the system
sustainable in the long term.

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I explained the coordination
process at the beginning.

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In the first phase, we will
coordinate with the social partners.

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Today we have confirmed
the basis for this.

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The social dialogue will take place
in the second half of this year,

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and at the beginning
of next year,

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the reform will be
in parliamentary procedure,

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and will then be finalised.

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At the same time as the social
partners agree on the measures,

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we will let the public know

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about the progress
and the contents of these measures.

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I won't comment on the measures yet,
but I will say one essential thing.

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The scenario
of the pension reform,

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and this is the commitment
of the entire coalition,

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is that 40 years of work
is enough.

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I can say today a 100%
that this will be the case

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when the reform is finished.

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Thank you very much.
Rok Šuligoj, go ahead.

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Hello. I would like to
continue where you left off.

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How to ensure sustainability
and high pensions

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while not changing
the years of service? Thank you.

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As I said, I will not comment on
the content of the pension reform.

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You can probably
imagine it yourself,

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but one thing is
the insurance period,

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the 40 years you have to work
in order to get a pension,

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and the other thing
are the parameters

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of the age
at which you can retire,

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and that is a matter of discussion
with the social partners.

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Metka Majer, Pop TV.

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Given that you are setting
everything up for ten years,

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couldn't this be seen
as something temporary?

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So the next government
or the one after that

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will then be expected
to extend this period.

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As I said,
in the previous reform,

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the social partners
agreed in 2013

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to adopt a White Paper
providing the necessary measures.

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The White Paper
was written in 2017,

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our reform follows the commitments
made in this White Paper.

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We are now following
the same pattern.

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We are agreeing
on the reforms of the system

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that will take place
over the next decade.

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A commitment is made
at the same time that

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a new White Paper will be adopted
after this reform is completed,

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and in it additional measures
will be envisaged.

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One of our three main objectives

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is to make this system
predictable and robust.

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The problem with
the current system has been

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that because too low a vesting
percentage was defined in 2013,

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only 57.25%,

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it was necessary to intervene
in the system all the time

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to ensure social justice.

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That is why governments

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made extraordinary
adjustments to pensions,

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that is why
there were constant talks

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about a higher vesting percentage
and so on.

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This is one of the things
that our reform is correcting,

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but I will talk about this
after we have completed at least

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the first part of the coordination
with the social partners.

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But I can tell you

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this is one of the fundamental
objectives of the reform.

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There have been
some information

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about the basis
for the calculation of pensions.

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Is this open to debate?

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I will not comment more
than what I have told you so far.

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This is one of the commitments
we have made to Brussels.

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Is this timeline in line
with Brussels' expectations?

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Yes, we will meet the Recovery
and Resilience Plan deadlines.

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Probably with a slight delay.

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But the estimated timeline

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won't jeopardise
the absorption of funds in any way.

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Any questions online?

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No? This concludes
today's press conference.

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Thank you very much
and have a good day. -Thank you.